Local man targeted by identity thieves similar to Microsoft's co-founder

PITTSBURGH - Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen was the first wealthy identity targeted by identity thieves. Now a local man has also been victimized.

Just two months after passing away, William Dietrich’s identity was stolen by thieves who used his credit card, officials said.

According to police, in December, a thief attempted to make two purchases on a credit card belonging to the Dietrich Charitable Trust. One was to Dell Computers for about $700 and the other to an organic product company for $174.90.

Dietrich, who donated $265 million to CMU before his death, was targeted in the same way as Allen.

Investigators said thieves hacked into a company in December and stole credit card numbers of more than 77,000 people and then posted the numbers on peer-to-peer networks for anyone to see.

Police have not said if anyone has been arrested in Dietrich’s case, but a spokesman for the trust said the card has been canceled. He also said the fraudulent charges have been reimbursed.